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Joshua 1:7-8 “7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. 8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success” (KJV).

Joshua is given a powerful promise. Each new step that Joshua is about to take and lead the nation of Israel will be prosperous. No matter what challenges and difficulties encountered, they are promised success. What a wonderful promise and there is no doubt that hearing this promise would allow Joshua to take each step with strength and courage.

The only stipulation for cashing in on the Lord’s promise; Joshua must remember his previous steps and those of Moses. The stipulation was to continue to observe the law. This made me think of the phrase “remember where you came from”; a phrase often used when someone advances to a higher leadership position.

When we remember the law, we look back at our past in a humble manner. The law is also a reminder of the steps that lead to the Cross. We remember that our authority comes from the Lord. As a leader it is easy to become power-hungry and use that power to gain glory from those under our authority. This is an area where I have seen great men of God fall into Satan’s traps.

As a leader in any profession, we must always remember that the Lord has blessed us and entrusted us to be in such positions. We must be careful to conduct ourselves in a manner that brings honor and glory to the Lord.

Spending time in His word becomes a greater challenge when serving in a leadership position. Leadership usually requires more responsibility and consumes more of our time. It becomes difficult to find time to focus on our personal spiritual growth, but we must also seek spiritual guidance and wisdom for others.

As we look at Joshua, we begin to see how important it was for Joshua to spend years preparing. Before Joshua could take over, he spent years training and developing his spiritual maturity first. He had to be mature and well prepared spiritually before he could add the additional responsibilities in leading the nation of Israel.

I am reminded that “we” as believers are all filling a leadership position. We are all responsible for the most important job of all ministries; sharing the Gospel with others. Of all the ministries and leadership roles, being trained and ready to lead others to Christ is and should be our number one goal. I don’t think anyone would say that they witness perfectly to others and don’t need to grow spiritually in this area. I know from personal experience that everyone is different when they hear the Gospel message; the excuses for not believing may be the same, but that person has a unique and deeper reason for either rejecting the message or not understanding it. The more we study and grow in the Lord, the better prepared we are when the Lord opens the door of opportunity for us to share His message.

Psalm 1:1 “1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful” (KJV).

The psalmist begins with a powerful announcement and calls for our immediate attention. The verse describes the walk and character of a godly man. Character is defined as our moral, ethical, and mental qualities. Character is unique and specific to every individual. As we walk through life, we are taught different character traits, some good and some bad. We have the ability to choose which character traits to accept, reject, or influence our own personal character.

Be careful when given advice. Be careful of the people you hang out with. Be on guard about the character traits of others. The negative thoughts and actions of others can be infectious. You may not know that you “caught” the trait.

Here is an illustration I used in my Sunday school class. Take a church and divide it into two sections. Each section or side of the church has 50 people. They are seated in the pews, evenly filling the rows from front to back. On one side you quietly whisper the good news that a friend of yours at work got saved. On the other side, you quietly whisper that you saw a deacon’s wife with another man walking into a hotel together. Do you think the positive news of salvation or the negative juicy gossip will travel throughout the church?

The negative character trait of one person will quickly infect others. Before you know it, good people will allow that negative trait to become part of their own.